Hausse de la Lune Écarlate
by The Shard of Flame Ice
Summary: Look... The moon is red tonight. Do you know? They say that the moon turns red on ocassion ever since the night the Empress of the Night was born. When the Scarlet Devil first flew on wicked wings... That's quite the tale of exodus. Does it intrigue you?
1. My, my, now who is this?

**AN: And so, it begins. A new story from me. A _Touhou_ fic, to be precise. It has been long since coming, and I have finally gotten around to starting with a new story, in a new fanfiction territory. To any of my readers from my other two Code Geass fics, if you happen to read this, please know that Emerald Caress will be put on hold for the moment, so that I can focus better on this and Crown of Love. To any new readers of mine, please enjoy my piece. For the moment, I will burrow from Castlevania, but this will in no way have any Touhou character traverse Transylvania to pwn Dracula; it is merely used in the backstory to further along the story itself. Since this is the prologue, I have to keep it mostly short. **

**Just so you know, yes, I finally got off my lazy ass to write more again, yes, I WILL write that Izayoi Sakuya story that I mentioned in my profile, yes, Touhou ate my soul, and yes, I am nuts for Remilia Scarlet. That's why I'm writting this in the first place. After all, _Hausse de le Écarlate Lune _quite literally translates to "Rise of the Scarlet Moon", mainly thanks to the fact I used a translator :P.**

**Warnings: Pretty much none for now.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Touhou Project. That belongs to ZUN. I do not own Castlevania. I forgot who that belongs to, sorry, but fact is I do not own absolutely none of the characters or places that appear and may appear in this story, save for my original own I may make up.**

_Dark. Dark and stormy. That is how the world had __been, doubly so, for the woman; Dark was her current fate, and stormy was the horizon; Dark was the night, and stormy as well, torrential waters cascading with lack of mercy upon the earth; Dark was the morbid feeling that pooled in the pit of her stomach, and stormy was the feeling of evil, as it threatened to engulf her. And dark was the lord of this cursed castle, and his malevolence reached over the lands like a storm; covering all under a blanket of shadows, and ever so expanding._

_How could things turn out likes this? The woman questioned the wall with a whisper, and received only silence. Why did this happen? The woman asked of the stars high above the reach of the dark lord with tears pooling in her eyes, and received nigh an answer. Why her? The woman wailed, begging the Almighty for a reply, why was she ripped apart from her beloved like this? Why did the Dark Lord focus his gaze on her? Why did the Dark Lord invade their home? Why did the Dark Lord clutch her with his evil hands? Why did he spirit her away? Why? Why?! WHY?!_

"_WHY?!"_

…_The scream resounded, echoing in the room and out into the hallways, and surely so, throughout half the reaches of Castlevania. With the wind at his command, she felt she had little reason to doubt that it would whisper her words to the ears of the dark one. She thus, feel she had little reason to doubt that he would soon appear before her, and answer those questions himself._

…_She would rather throw herself out this scarlet window right this instant, rather than face the devil himself again._

_But alas, the woman lamented, this would not be. The room she'd been locked away in was elegant; dim and dark, but malevolently elegant. With a queen sized bed against the wall, an unlit fireplace, a finely crafted set of wardrobes, tapestries mirrors and paintings, the room she'd been placed in was lavish. Lavish, and, where it not for its location, comforting. But, once more, this was not to be; the room was dim, all manner of light in the room unaccounted for. The room was within the castle of evil, thus the room itself reeked of its lord's darkness. The room was, at the time, illuminated only by the light of the moonlight filtering through the great, scarlet window to her side, thus showering her form in red. Red, like the color of the blood that coursed through her veins, and the color of the life force that fueled the sire of the night. _

_But it also was sealed, sealed with powerful magic to warden approach to her. Powerful, dark magic, wrought by Vlad Tepes himself. She knew, that she could not escape the fortress alone; not this room, not the hallways watched by his demon servants, not the lands scourged by his minions, not the dark lord himself, and much less her sorrow. Only her beloved Simon could rescue her, and she had no idea where he could be. She did not even know if his lungs still breathed his air, if his heart still beat, if his life still burned like a raging fire._

_Oh, Simon… how she would love to run her hands through his auburn locks again! She would love to gaze into his eyes, which were always filled with warmth and love for her, and whisper how much she loved him. And he would tell her he loved he back, and she'd laugh, saying how she already knew it, and then. And then they'd kiss, kiss like they've never kissed before, embrace as if fate's hands would attempt to force them apart, and let their passion reach newfound heights, as if the world itself was rushing to an end just for the climax of their eternal union. Yes, she would love that._

…_But again, the woman pulled herself out from her dreams. Only if he would come for her, she would make those dreams reality. She had no doubt that he would come for her. She had doubt that he was still alive to come for her. And that uncertainty broke her heart. _

_She knew… She could use her power. She could use that ability that she'd never wanted. She could use that "gift from the gods" that had descended upon her young self one day. She could use that force that transcended the very fabric of space and time, that which would bend the nature of reality to her will. That ability to manipulate the threads of fate, to weave destinies, destinies that would best match her whims…_

_But she would not. She could not, use her power. A power that would heighten her to the stature of a divine… That she possessed. That, she used to possess. A power so great, that it set her apart from the rest of mankind. A power that impaired her ability to create bonds. A power that increased her ability to distance possible loved ones. That it was. Her parents feared her, terrified of the spawn that could kill with a careless thought through a chain of events. Her fellow kin shunned her; afraid of the one everyone called a monster. Her once-friends turned on her, unwilling to cope with someone so drastically different from the rest. And above all, she thought, the ecclesiastic group, the God's church, who scorned her, jealous of a mere youngster who had earned the "favor of God"._

_It was because of that __**curse**__, that she'd had to hide her face in shame for much of her life. She'd run and hidden from the world, begging and praying, that, if there really was a God, if someone really heard her constant prayers, that they would take away this horrible thing from her._

_And it worked. After many long years, one day, it vanished. Just like that, without a trace, that curse vanished. She, skeptical, attempted multiple times to call on it, but failed, and each successive time, her hope grew, and finally, she realized, __**yes, it was gone!**_

_From that day forward, she was truly grateful to God, for saving her from that aching misfortune, and so, made sure to offer him her gratitude for all of her blessings, and for the blessings of those around her, every time she had the chance._

_A lost power. That power would have surely been helpful, she admitted with hesitance. It would have allowed her to, at the very least, know if her lover was still alive and well…_

_But before she could continue with her thoughts, she finally took notice of the fact that another being was in the room with her. With cold sweat forming on her brow, she slowly turned her head to a dark corner of the room, praying to God that she would not see what she knew she would see. And what she saw equated to the feeling of an ice-cold hand grasping tightly her heart._

_Standing amongst those shadows was a man. He was tall and broad shouldered, bearing a slim, but well muscled form, elegant but strong, and quite regal in appearance. He was dressed in much the same way a prince would, but his a style no mortal would dare to imitate. He wore black armor that covered his legs, gold lining the layers. Chain mail and red armor bordering were visible beneath a black coat with a fade of red towards the back. The sleeves of the coat ended broadly and bordered in gold. From the area where the armor reached the neck, a neck-borne cloth the color of pearly ghosts came from. Over this ensemble, was a great, black cloak, the underside of which was red in color. On his shoulders where pieces of armor that were spiked, black as well. His cloak ended spreading outwards from his head, ending in what seemed to be fangs, blood red the turnout side. _

_But it was not his clothing that brought fear to the woman's heart. No, it was his face… The face of Dracula, king of demons and lord of Castlevania, the castle of darkness. The dark one, who was ruler of the night…_

_He was pale. That was the first thing of notice. Extremely pale, skin tone the color of the dead. His face was angular and well-defined, incredibly handsome if she were to be honest with herself. Dark gray hairs fell in a stream around his head, long enough to reach below his neck and into the depths of his cloak. A small gray beard, trimmed and rather pointed, was visible on his face. But the most distinctive features, where the blood red eyes with slits denoting his true, demonic nature, and the sharp fangs that were visible from the sides of his mouth, which was settled into a small, partly evil smile._

_Cruel eyes and a devil's smile that were focused only on her…_

**AN: :P Guess who "the woman" is... **


	2. Dully Bright Horizons Part 1

**A.N.: I think some re-introductions are in order. Ahem... HELLO! I'm Shard of Flame Ice, returning from the dead (again!)! After a HORRIBLE Writer's Block, together with a case of a computer needing rebooting, I am FINALLY able to write again! First, the updating of this story, then my Code Geass one (maybe...). Ahhh... I love you Remi...**

**Well, where was I? Oh yes, of course. Well, I apologize PROFOUNDLY to all my readers for taking so long (which doesn't even compare to the massive "SORRY!" I'll have to give to my CG readers.) I present to you the second installation of this story. I tried to perform to the best of my ability after that period of stagnation, so I hope I haven't gotten _too _rusty.**

**WARNINGS: Shrewd and weird humor, OCs, my usual fare (sans the OCs; those are new.)**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Touhou. That belongs to the genius ZUN. I only own this story, it's plot and the OCs. Any characters other than those mentioned belong to ZUN and have only been borrowed by me.**

**Note: There's thirty-three explanations to thirty-three specified points. Any Touhou fan worth his or her salt should know several of these, though a lot of those are also translations from Japanese and French words or phrases. Since I'm using a translator (I want to learn Japanese and French _so bad!)_, feel free to correct me if you happen to recognize any mistakes.**

**Edit (July, 8th, 2010): Corrected a few mistakes, including a rather big one where an 'h' slipped by and into the word 'wore'. Thanks go to Skygraze for pointing it out. Also corrected French grammar flaws pointed out by annonimous reviewer 'TheFoolish', which include correcting the story's tittle. Thanks go to him/her as well. (To the same person, may I reccomend making a FF dot net account? It might make things easier for you to keep track of favorite stories, AND it may facilitate comunication between you and other users.)**

**BEGIN!**

**_PS: First part:_**

**This is the dark, evil sounding voice. All three sound ominous.**

_This is the normal, though faraway sounding voice. All three sound ominous._

_This is the booming, strange sounding voice. All three sound ominous._

**(Guess who's this.)**

**_These are recollections._**

**__****_These are the three voices speaking in tandem._**

**Everything after should be pretty much intuitive.**

_**A S D F A S D F A S D F A S D F A S D F A S D F A S D F A S D F A S D F A S D F A S D F A S D F A S D F A S D F A S D F A S D F A S D F A S D F A S D F A S D F A S D F A S D F A S D F **_

…

…

…

…**The darkness…**

…_A being…_

…The light…

_**(…?)**_

…**Chaos…**

…_A soul…_

…Life…

…**Hellfire…**

…_How peculiar…_

…Regeneration is…

_**(…These voices…)**_

…**Harbinger…**

…_Bound One…_

…Majesty …

_**(W-wha-?)**_

…**Relapse…**

…_Concealment…_

…Apotheosis…

…**Sunder the earth…**

…_Raise your head…_

…Spread your wings…

_**(W-what are you talking about?)**_

…**Destroy all…**

…_Free yourself…_

…Muster the links…

_**(Stop it!)**_

…**Auzi… **

…_Entendre…_

…Ακούω…

_**(…!)**_

…**Three olden paths there are…**

…_Three olden paths there are…_

…Three olden paths there are…

…**A triad of primal roads there were…**

…_A triad of primal roads there were…_

…A triad of primal roads there were…

…**A single, ascended passage will remain…**

…_A single, ascended passage will remain…_

…A single, ascended passage will remain…

…_**Hear, woe-laden child…**_

"**It's a monster! A demon!"**

"**Destroy it!"**

"**Kill it!"**

_**(What?)**_

…_**Acknowledge, woeful soul…**_

"**I… I must hide!"**

"**S-Stay away!"**

"…**What are you running away from?"**

_**(T-t-these cannot be…)**_

…_**Realize…**_

"**Shh… Don't worry, I'll protect you…"**

"**N-no… Mother…"**

"**Somebody… help me…"**

_**(No… Stop it…)**_

…_**How pitiful…**_

_**(Ngh…)**_

…_**So whatever will you do…?**_

_**(I… I…)**_

…_**As you are, all you can do…**_

…_**Is run…**_

_**(I… I won't-)**_

…_**SO RUN! **_

_**(Eeek!)**_

_**RUN! RUN AND RUN, AND KEEP ON RUNNING! FLEE LIKE YOU HAVE ALWAYS DONE! RUN AWAY, YOUNG ONE! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!**_

_**(Aaaahhhhhh!)**_

**____****A S D F A S D F A S D F A S D F A S D F A S D F A S D F A S D F A S D F A S D F A S D F A S D F A S D F A S D F A S D F A S D F A S D F A S D F A S D F A S D F A S D F A S D F A S D F**

…_**The struggling body of a young child, moving blindly and trashing against the covers of her bed. Panting and letting out low whispers and moans of pain, she suffered in the nightmares that filled her head…**_

_**But it was not to the mercy of the gods that she would wake up from foul dreams. Rather, it would be pain, merciful, that would revolt her body awake, away from past ponder. **_

"_**Aaaaaaahhhhhh!"**_

_**- (It burns! IT BURNS! Mother, it burns! STOP IT!) -**_

…_**Doors busting wide open, the figure of a grown woman shot into the chambers of a hurting girl, embracing her form and doing her best to sooth her pain…**_

_**~Dully Bright Horizons- End of Introduction~**_

**_/\/\/\/\/\/\ \/\/\/\/\/\/\ /\/\/\/\/\/\/ _**

**_- W_**

**_- h_**

**_- a_**

**_- t _**

**_- i _**

**_- n_**

**_- t_**

**_- h_**

**_- e_**

**_- ._**

**_- . _**

**_- ._**

_...Over the vast reaches of space, the attention is focused upon an innocuous corner, one that doesn't bear absolutely any remarkable traits… Save for a blue, little world that lies in the third orbit beyond the center of its galaxy. This is the Earth. _

_What serves as the place of unraveling of this tale, however, is not necessarily the world itself. Rather, it shall be focused on a chain of isles that lie in what the Earth's populations of humans commonly and comfortably called the Oriental Hemisphere. This is Japan… But we're still not there. Let's zoom in some more, to the largest, and the main, island: Honshū. And guess what? It is still not enough. Moving further in, we examine the center of Honshū; the Chubū region, in which we further observe its center, where the remains of what was once proudly called the Yatsugatake mountain range lay. Once mighty tall and proud, the mountain was torn to bits by a jealous Mount Fuji long ago. Or so said local Japanese folklore._

_But in reality, and to your possible exasperation, this is not quite the place where the story unfolds. Give your perspective of the world a turn in astrodimensional plane view, or simply open your soul to the wonders of the magic that once saturated our world so, and you shall see that the mountain, and the surrounding expanses of land, is actually __**still there**__. They are just… unreachable to most, protected by a mighty barrier that bordered the entirety of the range, completely hiding all of it from view, giving instead the image that only smaller mounds of earth remained of the great Yatsugatake mountain. This barrier is the Hakurei Border. _

_The Hakurei Border is a marvelous work of art born of the combined efforts of several priests of the Hakurei Shrine, which resulted in their deaths, and the help of a mysterious youkai named Yukari Yakumo. It is to this coalition that our land of Gensokyo has to thank for its continued, private existence. As it is, Gensokyo is in a most interesting situation; in the general plane of existence, Gensokyo, which is in truth the Yatsugatake mountain range, lies still in the center of the Chubū region. However, due to the special nature of the Hakurei seals and Yakumo's border, it is at the same time isolated in what you would call a different dimension. Hardly anyone can go to or from Gensokyo; the only one who is known to have free reign of that capability is Yakumo. It is thus that explorers of the mountain range touch only the grounds that Gensokyo once visibly occupied, and denizens of Gensokyo thus only roam the lands available within the Border. Cases where people from both sides of the border cross into the other have happened, the former (the Outers**(**_**_1_**_**)**) much more so than the latter (the Inners**(**_**_2)_**_ ), but both are in the end, rare. Many of those people don't survive the transition between planes, and even after that, some don't last long, usually devoured by a wild animal or youkai soon after._

_Items, on the other hand, are a different story. Items cross the border regularly; waste from Gensokyo transitions into the "Outer World" and several lost or undesired items in turn lose themselves to the pity of the universe, and end up in Gensokyo, almost always in the hands of a curious and oh-so-mercifully unimportant half-youkai-half-human young man. _

_But the history and architectural lesson should have been long over by now. It is thus finally, that Gensokyo, the Land of Illusions where nothing is quite like what it should be or appears to be, the Land of Dreams were fantasy becomes reality and the bore of normalcy is lost to the excitement of adventure, the Land of Fantasy where the extraordinary becomes ordinary and the ordinary extraordinary, is where our history comes upon._

_Yes, in Gensokyo, beyond the horizon where the sun reaches up into the sky, through the grassy plains where the wind blows freely, past the forests and human settlements scattered throughout the land, into the center of a lake where the mist seems to move with a mind of its own, lies an island that is connected to the mainland only by an incredibly thin strip of land; a peninsula only by a stretch, but one nonetheless. _

_In this peninsula stands a great, sizeable and majestic manor, painted principally in a tone as white as the clothing of its mistress, ornamented windows a red color that are overcome in beauty in Gensokyo only by the entrancing eyes of its ruler. The roof was painted in light-pigment blue, but the borders of it faded quickly to lavender tiles, and a white stripe coursed down one way of each point of each tower that separated at some point from the main house, each which were capped off with a red spire and a dark-pink spearhead, reflecting thus the indecision of its caretakers in relation to the color of the lady's hair; the subjectivity of color perception in relation to the time, place, illumination and weather conditions was truly a subject of controversy_**_(*)_**_._

_This over-descriptive, castle-like manor is known to many as the Scarlet Devil Mansion**(**_**_4)_**_, shortened by many as well to S.D.M. It is here, that our story truly begins…_

**_A S D F A S D F A S D F A S D F A S D F A S D F A S D F A S D F A S D F A S D F A S D F A S D F A S D F A S D F A S D F A S D F A S D F A S D F A S D F A S D F A S D F A S D F A S D F_**

**Scarlet Péninsule _(_**_**3)**_

**- Scarlet Devil House _(_**_**4)**_

**-Master Bedroom**

**Time: 7: 02 P.M., nighttime.**

"Huff… huff…"

This was the panting noise that came out of the mouth of someone who most likely just went through an ordeal. To her, it was.

"_*cough, cough*_"

Coughing not too long after panting… that sounds like she almost choked on her saliva…

"…_*sniff*_"

And now she's sniffing and… is that the sound the hurried sound of the movement of a cloth? Dear lord, she got so scared she cried a little…

Oh hell… Narrating actively in 3rd person is not easy, but suffices to say that our protagonist has just woken up from a veritable nightmare. Truly, it is all one Remilia Scarlet could do to not order for a messenger to be sent to the manor of Eientei in order to request for a home visit from the genius Eirin Yagokoro, because she was sure that it was not normal to have the same recurring nightmare _two weeks in a row_, and God knows that refined young demon lords like herself need their sleep, and she was quite positively _dying_ for a good, comforting sleep, because in the current state of things, not even her _lit royal**(**_**_5) _**could protect her from those terrible whispers!

"_Voix Maudit..._" **_(6)_**

All that remained was for her maid to catch her cursing! In French, no less!

Speaking of…

Taking a deep breath, Remilia bellowed out with her powerful lungs, "Sakuyaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!"

She didn't have to wait long; barely a quarter of a second after the name left her lips, a woman appeared, as if out of nowhere, right in front of her bed. This woman bore a traditional French maid uniform, styled just slightly to her tastes: a light pink long-sleeved shirt was visible beneath the dark blue tank top-miniskirt combo, ruffles from where the arms came out of the tank top. An apron the same color of her shirt was tied around her waist, the roman numbers for 1 to 12 embroidered in black. A black ribbon was tied below her neck; a red stripe was visible on the collar of her shirt; she wore dark blue pumps, and a white bonnet completed the standard maid ensemble, visible at the top of her head.

She had her silver hair tied by a green ribbon in twin braids that fell at the sides of her face, framing her face and accentuating her deep blue eyes and the reserved, but warm smile that should have formed on her lips. Should. But instead, a worried look had taken the place of the young human with an athletic body. She was…

__**The Perfect and Elegant Servant**_**_**

_**Sakuya Izayoi (7)**_

"Good night_**(**)**_, mistress. Did you call for me?"

"I did, Sakuya; punctual as always." Remilia did not show it, but she was grateful for Sakuya's presence; being near her helped her calm down when she was upset. And right now, she was _very _upset.

"…Mistress, I… heard what sounded like thrashing sounds and whimpers coming from your room. Are you alright?"

"I am fine… " The vampire whispered. "I… am… fine."

(_Yes, I'm alright, nothing's wrong! I'm not bleeding, not really hungry yet, in no form of danger and most certainly not exposed to the sunlight… So why do those words sound so false…? …Probably because they are.)_

Her maid was not falling for it either. If anything, her worried expression deepened, and she took a few steps closer to Remilia's bed, leaning in slightly. "But mistress, I am sure that those were the sounds of struggling. If nothing else, then at the very least you must have suffered from a nightmare. Please, if there is anything I can do…!" But she silenced herself quickly enough at a warning glance from her mistress.

She bowed her head. "…Please forgive me, mistress. I forgot my place."

Remilia sighed, sitting up straight in her bed and crossing her legs. "No, it is alright Sakuya. It is I who should ask you to forgive me."

Said maid glanced up, surprised. "Mistress?"

The ruby-eyed girl shook her head, "Indeed. You are correct in your assumptions that something is wrong. I called you here, upset, and you answered as always, worried for me, only to be silenced in my impertinence. It was very rude of me. " She gazed at the silverette, looking down. "I am sorry, Sakuya, my old friend."

Sakuya looked genuinely surprised. It was _incredibly _rare for the proud Scarlet Devil to admit she was wrong, let alone _apologize_. She smiled; it was moments like these, where she could see the hidden side of Remilia Scarlet, that were part of the reason why she accepted this job. "…Thank you, mistress. There is no need for you to ask forgiveness from _me_, your humble servant, but…thank you."

The two shared a smile, the one that people who've spent decades together and know each other like the back of their hands have.

"…Sakuya, I… had a nightmare."

The moment broke.

"A nightmare, mistress?"

"Yes… though it is no big deal really."

"Pardon me if I sound out of place again, ojou-sama_**(8)**_, but I believe that a nightmare that could cause the mighty Scarlet Devil to _whimper _is no simple matter."

"…I suppose so."

The elder-looking one seemed uncomfortable. Hesitatingly, she asked, "Would it be alright if I… requested that you let me hear your nightmare?"

"_Huh. That seems familiar. As if someone like her had asked me such once before. Now who could it have been…"_, were her thoughts, but without missing a beat, Remilia agreed.

"Very well… I don't remember much of it, but it went something like…"

_**A S D F A S D F A S D F A S D F A S D F A S D F A S D F A S D F A S D F A S D F A S D F A S D F A S D F A S D F A S D F A S D F A S D F A S D F A S D F A S D F A S D F A S D F A S D F**_

**Scarlet Péninsule**

**-Scarlet Devil House****4**

**-Master Bedroom's Bathroom**

**Time: 7:28 P.M., around twenty-six minutes after the start of the last scene.**

Repeating, a while after her explanation, Remilia and Sakuya found themselves in the former's personal bathroom, the latter assisting her mistress in her bath. _**(A.N: And just to clarity to any perverts, Sakuya was not 'assisting' in 'that 'way, in ANY way.) **_Whilst Remilia's condition as a vampire prevented her from ever crossing through most forms of running water, a bath was within the 'A-OK' range.

Staying true to her tendency to expand the space of the household (via Sakuya); there was more than enough space in it to fit a bathroom the size the vampire owned as personal. The floor was made of polished marble, with incrusts of erythrite_**(9)**_ arranged throughout the floor. What would normally be called the 'tub' or 'furo'_**(10)**_ in the traditional Japanese bathroom would more appropriately fit the description for 'swimming pool'; it was unnecessarily big and spacious, easily sporting the ability to hold more than one-hundred people, each with their own defined, comfortable space if needed, and still have plenty of leftover space. Several, small benches rose off to the side, from whence people could sit and wash themselves before soaking in the tub. Predictably, pails and washcloths were neatly organized in several shelves that were within standard arms reach.

Located at various points around the room, faucets that would let their water fall into canals were positioned. Each canal was designed in such a way that the water would remain constant, never overflowing from the canal, and always into the tub. The faucets were there not only to proportionate additional water to the tub, they were also each connected to an aromatized water tank; feeding water from the faucets would thus cause the water itself to become fragrant_**(11)**_. Each faucet possessed a different fragrance, and Remilia knew the potentially deadly effects of a dipping in the water that joined all of the sixty-six different perfumes Remilia last remembered assigning to her bathroom; it would become a smell so heavenly, so inconceivably strong it would permanently be stuck to your skin unless you nearly scrubbed yourself raw, that all kinds of effects could take place. It could lead to a sleep from which there would be no waking from, to a heightened sense of smell, to a sense of smell that would be stuck on one single odor, to a jump-started libido equal in force to the nuclear energy born of the burning passion of a thousand suns_**(12)**_. Remilia cringed at the thought of the last one; the last time a fairy maid accidentally fell into one such bath because of a prank played by a newer recruit, the maid in question proceeded to emerge from the bath with a smile that could not be described as anything but sultry. Cue the rampant sexual assaults committed one after another in rapid succession. They numbered hundreds in less than _two hours_. Remilia herself was one such target for the horny fairy—and the last one. Cue triple-teamed merciless destruction of the aggressor, courtesy of the Scarlet Team_**(13)**_ + little Flandre; seems she didn't take too kindly to a servant trying to attack her sister.

Luckily for all those involved, fairies as a whole are pretty damn hard to completely exterminate; even if you 'kill' them, you'll find not too long after that the very same fairy has returned from death to continue frolicking as if nothing ever happened_**(14)**_. Indeed, several fairy maids actually _died_ from the sex, the aggressor's **very **slowly diminishing libido notwithstanding. She was happy to say that they all returned happily to their normal routines the next day, although all curiously chipper and some almost bouncing off the walls and the ceiling with energy.

That whole ordeal was… interesting, to say the least, and it garnered the need of a sign plastered to the mistress's bathroom door that held a short, and very appropriate message;

**The Lady's Private Bathroom**

**Unless told otherwise, KEEP. OUT.**

**~Note: Entry without permit potentially hazardous to continued existence in the short term. ~**

_**Sincerely, the Head of the Maid Staff, Izayoi Sakuya.**_

Indeed, it was the last time she allowed Patchouli to use her for her experiments. She chose to keep the faucets since unless used in extreme quantities, the perfumes from the experimented plants would be harmless. Good thing those weird charms Patchouli engraved into the faucets allowed them to be operated at will.

Remilia laughed.

From behind her, Sakuya raised an eyebrow as she carefully and slowly lathered her mistress's back, carefully avoiding her wings. "Oh? Did I tickle you, ojou-sama?"

The vampire lightly shook her head, instead resting her head on a pillow by the edge of her personalized section of the massive tub, complete with a bordering etched by polished brimstone. She gazed around the majesty of her personal spaces, drawings and pictures of art rivaling olden masters of the canvas painted to the ceiling. "Naw, just reminiscing… Remember when that fairy maid fell into the fully-fragranced tub?"

Sakuya scowled. "How could I ever forget? The little pervert tried to use my own knives to cut off my clothes. I would have turned her into a pincushion if you and mistress Flandre hadn't been busy at that moment pumping her full of danmaku. You both take the trash out so readily and with such enthusiasm, it's a wonder I'm even needed anymore."

"Sakuyyyyaaaaaaaaa.", boredly intoned the vampire, "You know perfectly well that the house would collapse in a manner of hours without you to help me run it. Those fairy maids are either helpful, or a handful; I can't quite decide which. Patchy**_(15)_** is smart and all, but she spends all her time with her face in a book; she hardly ever leaves the library, barring basic necessities or unless she absolutely has to. Koakuma_**(16)**_ is too busy organizing the library and checking the traps, Meimei_**(17)**_ is too dumb to lead, and I'd sooner throw myself to the sun than have Flan_**(18)**_ try to lead."

"Come now, mistress," lightly scolded the maid as she ran her fingers through the other's _célestine**(**_**_19)_** hair, washing it delicately and cleaning it of any form of imperfection. "You discredit yourself. You are more than capable of single-handedly administering your territory and your household. I do believe I've teached you to cook properly, and I'm sure you could work those fairies into shape and actually make them _helpful_. Even the Death Fairies_**(20)**_ would do a marvelous job given the right motivation, and you know how clumsy they are otherwise."

Remilia humored her, "Yes, yes, whatever you say, Sakuya."

As Sakuya chuckled, she allowed herself to relax, closing her eyes and almost ready to fall asleep again. The feeling of Sakuya's hands on her hair was always an amazing thing, but today, it was lulling her to sleep. But she stopped herself, when her maid did as well. A single eye opened, questioning, "…Sakuya?"

"Mistress…" _"Great, it's __**that**__ tone again."_ While Sakuya debated on what to say next, let me explain what Remilia meant for **that** tone. The Tone of Voice, or just the Tone, was Remilia's way to call the inflection her servant's voice took on when she was both unsure and reproachful. It serve to bridge the emotions of the silver-haired woman between expressing worry for her mistress as well as to show that she was in rare disagreement over one of Remilia's chosen courses of action.

"Why didn't you say anything, mistress?"

"_So it's about that. Of course it is about that, what else could it be?"_, Remilia thought to herself as she sighed in exasperation. _"Still hung up on that."_

"Mistress!"

"_*sigh*_. Sakuya, even if I mentioned it, hardly anything could be done."

"Hardly anything? Mistress! With people such as Lady Patchouli or Miss Yagokoro available, there must have been something that could have been done!"

"Such as becoming a test subject? Is that what you propose?"

Sakuya was taken aback. Her mistress did not usually snap at her like that with that much anger. "M-mistress, I-"

"No, listen, Sakuya! My dreams are just that! Dreams! They hardly mean anything! Had they held any particular significance then I **would** be worrying! Even If I were, those are still **my** dreams, taking place within my head, which contents are to be known only to me and to those I deem necessary! Having either of those perform a test is **not** necessary; neither is to let them in to my mind's inner workings. Stop worrying."

Sakuya lowered her head, "…I am sorry, mistress. I spoke out of place once again."

Remilia just shook her head, using one of her wings to lift Sakuya's head without even having to turn around. "No Sakuya, you spoke as a friend should have. I just let my temper get the better of me again. Again. You should not feel sorry."

"…Hm. Very well." , and a small smile appeared on the maid's lips again. The subject was dro—

"Besides, have you forgotten who you are speaking with?", at this, Sakuya was curious. She was forgetting that… "Oh come on!" Remilia smirked, showing her sharp fangs that barely poked from beneath her lips. "I manipulate fate_**(21)**_. Whatever those dreams mean, I will make sure it never happens. So, really, stop worrying. Let's forget about this matter. _S'il te plait?_**_(22)_**_**.**_"

Sakuya smiled, deciding simply to help the other finish bathing. "…_Bien**(**_**_23)_**_._"

And thus the subject was dropped.

**_A S D F A S D F A S D F A S D F A S D F A S D F A S D F A S D F A S D F A S D F A S D F A S D F A S D F A S D F A S D F A S D F A S D F A S D F A S D F A S D F A S D F A S D F A S D F _**

**Scarlet Péninsule**

**-Scarlet Devil House**

**-Route Jugulaire**_** (***)**_**: Main Access Hallway**

**Time: 7:58 P.M., a half-an-hour after Remilia's bath.**

Thirty minutes later saw the both of them heading away from the Master Bedroom and heading down into the mansion. They were currently walking down the main corridor of Remilia's personals wing, from which you could go to almost any place in that section of the manor. Due to the stature of its sole inhabitant, this wing was brightly lit by candles on each side of the corridors and lavishly decorated with pretty and/or expensive furniture, paintings of past battles and people, and all kinds of trinkets, relics, mementos and treasures of whatnot scattered around the area stored in shelves, tables and cabinets; all in order to bring out the fact that the mistress was _**powerful**_**. **Not that it really mattered much, considering that the only ones to have ever entered this enclosure were Sakuya, who was at the beck and call of her mistress, Patchouli the librarian, Flandre, the little sister, and some random fairy maids that are sent to tidy up the place every now and then when Sakuya is too busy with other things at that moment. And Remilia herself, of course.

Speaking of, she was currently engaged in a conversation with her maid. Let's listen in…

"…so I asked him, "Are you sure of those words? Do you indeed feel like that for me?" …When I saw he hesitated for a split second, I knew he really didn't. So I made him my meal for the day."

"Was that right, mistress? I was sure that we agreed to not make the humans your food on our own. Did you not get in trouble?"

She waved her away nonchalantly. "Relax. Yukari _did_ appear later to scold me, but conceded the point that the human had it coming; you do not express romantic interest to a vampire unless you _truly _mean it. You **don't**. We vampires are extremely possessive and jealous beings; when our lover is threatened, we stop at nothing to protect him or her, but when our lover betrays us, destruction is all that can be assured of the surrounding area. What luck he had, in the sense that I did not accept him… Had I not done so, then his type would eventually turn his eyes to another. He would leave me. And when he did, I would have not only hunted him down; I would have also razed the human village from whence he came from. In such an instance, it would be within my right. That was what we accorded with the other Youkai. "

Sakuya merely raised her eyebrow, before it lowered as her face looked pensive. Seeing this, the shorter girl simply called her attention, the both of them stopping in their stride.

"Oi, Sakuya. Just forget about that. Why did you ask if I ever had someone confess to me anyway?"

Smile. "Oh it was nothing. I was just curious, is all." And then they resumed walking. But only for a while, because...

"…Fine, whatever you say. Don't worry about me, though." And a positively devious grin spread itself across her face. She closed he eyes as she recited in a sing-song voice. "~_Because all Sakuyan needs is for little China to kiss her tears awaaaayyy~."_

Abruptly, Sakuya stumbled as she heard her mistress taunt her in such a childish way… And her stumble caused her to fall rather ungracefully, face kissing the floor. A fierce blush had settled on her face. Unfortunately for her, her embarrassment would not end there, because…

"_*whistle* _My my! What a great view! Sakuya, if I didn't know any better, I'd say you were trying to seduce me!"

…her bottom was still sticking out in the air, and the skirt had hiked up, revealing thus her underwear, which was rather tight in her current position, and in turn left little to the imagination where her 'naughty bits' were concerned.

Understandably, Sakuya hurried to a more comfortable (and proper) sitting position, pulling down her skirt as much as she could as she complained with a blush colored the vibrant red of a tomato.

**"Mistreeeeeeeessssss!"**

Remilia rejoiced in her victory. Years of living together, and she could still pinpoint a crack in the maid's armor. Interesting it was too; she'd had to reprimand her later for not informing her that she had entered into a relationship with Meiling.

But first…

"Enough, Sakuya. Stop wasting time! At this rate, we'll be late for my breakfast!"

…Twelve seconds later they were off again, one with a blush and twitchy hands, the other with a triumphant smirk and a skip in her step.

_**A S D F A S D F A S D F A S D F A S D F A S D F A S D F A S D F A S D F A S D F A S D F A S D F A S D F A S D F A S D F A S D F A S D F A S D F A S D F A S D F A S D F A S DF A S D F **_

**Scarlet Péninsule**

**- Scarlet Devil House**

**- Main Hall**

**Time: 8:10 P.M., twelve minutes in slightly hurried steps from the Route Jugulaire. **

"_**Good night, Mistress Remilia!"**_

This was the mandatory greeting assembly that the Scarlet Devil was due for every day. It was a requirement of sorts that was asked of each maid employed in the house, and asked of as well of every newcomer maid. So whenever said vampire awoke, the head maid would call for the fairies to assemble in the main hall as Remilia descended the stairway en route to her breakfast. It was a regarded as a tradition in several countries beyond the boundary, the Mistress had once told them, and so she wanted to preserve it.

None complained, however; being a maid for the Scarlet Devil afforded so many advantages when compared to living in the wild of Gensokyo, that none of the fairies minded being told to drop whatever they were doing at such a moment in order to greet the vampire.

As such, Remilia was quite used to the greetings of the thousands of maids assembled neatly in rows and columns in the Main Hall, the floor and the air above filled with them; for not the first time, Remilia mentally praised Sakuya for her space manipulation ability.

Descending the scarlet-carpeted steps of marble, the Scarlet Devil today sported her prim and expensive wardrobes, but in a fashion leaning at bit more towards "casual". Since she had no plans for this night, she chose a short-sleeved version of her light-pink dress. The skirt was also shorter, falling to her knees rather than covering nearly all of her lower body. The red bow that was normally tied at her back was laced in black. Her white bloomers, too, where shortened to her knees as well. For footwear, she wore a red pair of Chinese lotus shoes, courtesy of the gatekeeper.

Her wrist cuffs were present, the white material with a broad scarlet cloth embroidery tied to her wrists. Similar cuffs could be seen tied to her ankles. Her hair was clean, but slightly wavy as normal, kept under her trademark mob cap in a small, secret bun known only to her closest companions. It was a beautiful tone of light blue.

Her grand wings manifested**_(24)_** today like an ebony and lilac-colored shawl draped over her shoulders, visibly coming from her backless dress only if the shawl rose a little. With head raised high and a calm look on her face, the vampire took in the slightly expectant look of her servants.

She smiled.

Almost as one, the fairies smiled joyously in tandem and bowed to their master, proceeding on with their ritual.

"_**The Mistress is beautiful as always. Please enjoy a most delectable meal prepared for someone of your stature, Mistress."**_

Closing her eyes for a moment, she drank in the praises, each one sounding as truthful as the next. Then, she opened her eyes.

"_**We are grateful for once again being in the grace of the Mistress's presence."**_

She stopped walking, and everyone looked at her.

"As am I for your continued service and unwavering loyalty to me. Do continue providing your very best towards the wellbeing of the Scarlet Clan, and you all shall remain under my favor forevermore."

It had the desired effect. Gasps, squeals and "Ahhhs", and several others, came from all directions, as order began to break down while simultaneously a rain of praise and exclamations could be heard from all around.

"Uwaaaaaaa!"

"Sugoi!_**(25)**_ The Mistress is so…!"

"And with only those two sentences, we...!"

"_Kyaaaaaaaa!"_

"Mistress Remilia!"

"Long live the Scarlet Devil!"

"Long live Mistress Remilia!"

Satisfied, she marched purposely towards the great doors leading to the dining room, which where opened quickly by flustered and blushing fairies as she approached. She took note of the fact that Sakuya was not following her.

**_A S D F A S D F A S D F A S D F A S D F A S D F A S D F A S D F A S D F A S D F A S D F A S D F A S D F A S D F A S D F A S D F A S D F A S D F A S D F A S D FA S D F A S D F A S D F _**

**Scarlet Péninsule**

**- Scarlet Devil House**

**- Dining Room**

**Time: 8:15, three minutes after enamoring more of her servants and just on time for breakfast.**

As the doors closed behind her, thereby somewhat muting the overwhelming sound wave created by her maids, she heard a powerful, though muted, order for silence from the head maid. Silence came to the hall only after some minutes, but eventually, the gathered maids calmed down and proceeded to continue with their assignments.

A voice broke the silence that filled the room as Remilia waited with eyes closed once again.

"You do seem to enjoy holding their love and hearing their praises, don't you Mistress?"

**SLAP!**

"**OW!"**

"Silence you fool! Show the Mistress some respect!" Abruptly, the second speaker turned to the amused vampire and bowed. "Please forgive Toruko**_(26)_**, Mistress. You know how she often forgets her place."

Remilia waved her away with one hand, using the other to stifle her giggles. "It's quite alright, Chairo**_(27)_**. If you keep hitting Toruko like that, she may just lose some of her neurons one of these days."

Chairo blushed, rising from her bow while wringing her maid uniform's skirt. She wore a mainly brown with light green highlights version of the normally red and dark blue maid uniforms the other fairies wore. Her hair was the color of sinopia, complementing her orange eyes. Her hair was long and well-kept, tied in a high ponytail that reached her upper back. Her skin was pale, though not quite the tone of her mistress. Three pairs of transparent wings, shaped like the petals of a rose, flapped to keep her feet above the ground.

_**_The Strict and Sisterly Fairy_**_

_**Nijiro Shimai no Chairo(**__**28)**_

The first speaker chuckled, scratching hear head before bowing to Remilia as well. "Hahahahahahaha… Sorry Mistress. I forgot my manners again." Much like Chairo, she too, wore a similar uniform, though hers was blue with icy highlights. Her hair was shorter than Chairo's, though still a bit long, reaching below her shoulder blades with a single sideburn to the left of her face. It was turquoise, a shade and tone exactly like those of her younger twin. Her wings where shaped like sharp icicles. She however, was grounded. Her aqua-colored eyes where hidden behind her eyelids, which completed her youthful expression.

_**_The Confident and Youthful Fairy_**_

_**Nijiro Shimai no Toruko(**__**29)**_

Both of them wore a pin that was imagined after a seven-petal flower, each with petal a different color. The pin was placed below the neckline, used to keep a small handkerchief which was part of their special uniform. The handkerchief was colored after their respective hair (Chairo's sinopia, Toruko's turquoise).

When both stood at attention, expectant, Remilia simply continued on her way to the humongous table at the center of the room. Both followed after her. When they reached it, both floated ahead of Remilia, pulling back the throne-like chair placed at the head of the table. Once the vampire herself walked over, she gave a curt "thank you", and seated herself, the fairies pushing the chair towards the table soon after, before taking positions to her left.

Soon after, Sakuya appeared as if out of nowhere.

She bowed to Remilia's right, taking a small glance to the fairies on the other side of the room before directing it downwards.

"I apologize for taking so long in controlling the fairies, Milady. They were rather euphoric this time."

Toruko spoke up at this time, "Heh, I'd be too if I had been there to hear the Mistress speak with that charisma of hers."

Chairo gave a small smile, giggling slightly. "Well, the Mistress is always quite charismatic when it comes to her subordinates, so I don't see why they wouldn't react like that."

"Indeed.", agreed Sakuya, "Which also raises the question about where were the two of you during the assembly." There was a small icy sub tone in her voice, which caused the two fairies to gulp.

Toruko scratched her head nervously while Chairo blabbered for an excuse, but Sakuya would have none of it. In the blink of an eye, a silver knife was poised to strike down both of the fairies via slitting of their throats. A shiver ran down their spines as they heard the cold voice admonish their lack of presence during the event.

"How many times do I have to tell you two? The waking assembly is** required** of all fairies working for the mistress. That your sisters present themselves does not excuse the absence of you two."

Chairo tried to talk their way out of dying, but it fell on deaf ears; "I-I'm—We're sorry, Lady Sakuya! I tried to get Toruko to hurry and get ready but she wouldn't get out of bed!"

Toruko, on the other hand, never opened her eyes, but her expression did turn sheepish; "I _tried_ to get up to heed the assembly call, but even Chairo failed in getting me to get up. Perhaps I might have been able too if Chairo hadn't been babbling nonstop yesterday about all the things we had to do today." This of course earned her a glare from Chairo.

"That still doesn't excuse the fact that—"

"Oh come off it, Sakuya."

"But Mistress—"

"I told you, its fine. Have you forgotten that these two and their sisters, much like yourself, are not required to attend the assemblies?"

She was right, Sakuya realized; these two did not actually _have_ to be there whenever Remilia woke up. But she still wished they did, since their sisters did attend the assemblies, if only for protocol's sake. With a small sigh, she let the two go, and instantly appeared to Remilia's side. The two fairies were left to gasp on the ground, getting their heartbeats to slow down to normalcy.

With an approving nod, Remilia clapped her hands. Sakuya responded in kind by producing a small, golden bell from somewhere, and ringing it. Five seconds later, the doors located to Remilia's left opened, and a couple fairies with the standard uniform filed in, each carrying a trays holding the Mistress's breakfast.

As the trays were set on the table, and her servants set everything for her meal, she observed today's breakfast. _"Hmm… Tonight's is a classic one; a fresh baguette with jam and my morning tea… and… oh ho, a grapefruit! So Sakuya is playing it safe tonight… Interesting…"_

When the table was set, Sakuya helped her mistress to push a white cloth into the neck of her dress, and placed a napkin on her lap. She was ready for her meal.

But just as Sakuya reached for the teacup to pour her some tea, a raised hand stopped her. She glanced at Remilia questioningly, only to see her take a sullen look around the table.

Like anyone who could easily be called a best friend, Sakuya quickly caught on, and her eyes turned sad too.

"…It's rather silent here."

"It is, Mistress."

"…Whatever happened to the times when we would all uphold that sacred tradition_**(30)**_, when we would all gather here before each meal and spend a time talking normally, as friends instead of master and servants, before enjoying a meal together?"

Sakuya lowered her head, taking the teapot and pouring the Mistress her tea. "Things… change with time, Mistress."

"…I guess."

It was Chairo to cut in at this time, not quite reading the mood. "But… the Ladies are all available, aren't they? So why don't—" But she cut herself off when a hand was placed on her shoulder, and she turned to look at Toruko, who shook her head, eyes open and a grim expression on her face.

The indication that the smaller fairy was doing the right thing was the heavy silence that quickly fell over the room when she stopped talking. She closed her eyes, and did what she could to mesh with the wall.

Unfortunately for Sakuya, who felt guilty about doing what she would do next, she had made a promise. She had to keep it.

Once she had served the tea and cut open the bread, she stood with a slight tension noticeable on her body. Remilia noticed this, dissimulatively reading into Sakuya's thoughts through her behavior. Her eyes widened slightly.

"Mistress, I…"

_(…I see… So that's it... Sakuya… you too…)_

Remilia, quite suddenly, turned her head towards Sakuya and gave her a wide grin, which surprised Sakuya.

"Oh it's fine Sakuya! You can go do what you need to do."

"Wha—But Mistress, are you sure that—"

"I told you already! It's fine! So go on!", jumping off her chair, which slid back rather noisily, she started to push Sakuya out of the room, even as the maid gave her excuses and tried to talk her out of it. "What are you saying? Weren't you supposed to meet with Meiling soon?"

"Well, yes, but…" The maid did not even stop on the fact that the vampire knew something she wasn't supposed to.

"No buts! A promise is a promise! So get out of here and go to her!"

"I… A-alright."

When the door closed, Sakuya glanced behind her in concern, but decided to shake it off. Remilia herself said it was fine, so… Turning towards the entrance, she smiled. Time to check on Meiling…

On the other side, Remilia leant against the heavy doors, letting out a sigh. She walked back to her sit, idly sitting herself on the chair even as Toruko and Chairo pushed it back to the table. She smiled all the while.

"U-um… Mistress, is there something we can…?"

"Oh it's alright. You may go and begin your chores. I'm fine eating by myself. "

"But—"

"Chairo… let it go. We've been dismissed." Once again, Toruko got her to stop.

"Alright…" And the two departed.

Left all alone, Remilia idly added some sugar to her tea and stirred it before taking a sip from it and placing the cup in front of her on the table. Her smile was gone.

"…Yes… I'll be fine by myself… Alone..."

_**A splash against the maroon surface caused ripples to course through the body…**_

Silver shone brightly over the ivory skin of the dead princess; a result of light striking purity over purity.

_**A shudder runs free through the mirror before it cracks, as a similar rupture forms itself from a pierced heart.**_

"…**Alone, huh…"**

"…**Never thought I'd feel like this again..."**

And glancing over to the side, where through the grand windows she could see the full moon, whose light encased her figure in radiance, caused even more shine to highlight the twin trails running down her face…

She gripped her chest, where her heart was.

**This… I… I…**

…**It hurts… It burns like it once did so long ago… Mother…**

…_**Looks like tomorrow will just be another bright, dull day…**_

_**Dully Bright Horizons – Part 1 End**_

_**CONTINUE?CONTINUE?CONTINUE?CONTINUE?CONTINUE?CONTINUE?CONTINUE?CONTINUE?CONTINUE?CONTINUE?CONTINUE?CONTINUE?CONTINUE?CONTINUE?CONTINUE?**_

**References, Meanings, Explanations, etc…**

**1 & 2: **_Outers and Inners, refer, respectively, to the people from outside the border, and the denizens of Gensokyo… Though I won't blame you if you think Sailor Moon when you read this._

**3: **_I don't know about you people, but the SDM always seemed, to me, to be not on an island, but a peninsula. At the very least, to hand-wave the island thing, I made it so that the land connecting SDM and the mainland was __**thin**__. Quite so, to the point that the land becomes covered by the lake on particularly rainy days. By the way, __**Péninsule**__ is French for peninsula. In other words, since SDM is on that peninsula, it is thus named after its ruler._

**4:** _Though it has been reputed as "Scarlet Devil Mansion", I've read that in older times, the lords and ladies of such extravagant abodes found it __**degrading**__ to refer to their homes as "mansions". Thus, they are referred to as "house", "big house" or such. Thus, "Scarlet Devil House"._

**5:** _Lit royal or Royal lit stands for "royal bed". Simply put, a BIG, extremely comfortable bed that possesses crimson drapes. Personally speaking, even if Yukari sleeps in a futon (or at least I think so), and learned of this, well…_

**6:** _French for "Accursed voices"._

**7: **_Character introductions like these will be made for every character´s first physical insertion into this story. Except Remilia. I have special plans for her…_

**8:** _A formal and respectful way to refer to a female of high status, often the daughter of a rich and powerful lord. Sakuya switches between this and "Milady" and "Mistress" at will in accordance to the level of formality of their conversation and in whose presence._

**9:** _Erythrite is a mineral with a coloring that struck me as entrancing; its color varies, but in this case, it should be a unique mix of purple, red and dark pink._

**10:** _Japanese for "bath". A very important part of Japanese culture._

**11: **_Cookie for anyone who gets the reference. Hint: It's from one of a series of incredibly popular books._

**12:** _Another cookie for anyone who gets the reference. Hint: It´s from one episode of a TV series… about fairies… How low have I fallen?_

**13:** _The name for the Sakuya+Remilia combo from Imperishable Night. In this case, + Flandre… Uh oh… Well, at least that fairy died peaceful— No, actually, no she didn't._

**14: **_I don't remember from where, but I remember that I read somewhere that fairies are supposed to be short lived (when compared to youkai), but are also prone to rebirth, killed or otherwise._

**15:** _Known (or fan, I'm not sure) nickname that Remilia has for Patchouli Knowledge, her reputed best friend. Likewise, Patchouli has one of her own for Remilia; "Remi"._

**16:** _Fan name for the otherwise unnamed mid-boss of Stage 4 of The Embodiment of Scarlet Devil. She is a red-headed succubus, a female sex-demon with bat wings sprouting from her lower back and her head, and a devil-like tail. ZUN, Touhou's creator , says she´s supposed to be mischievous and playful, but most fans portray her as clumsy or a worrywart. I, too, shall do this. Also, her fan nickname is her name shortened to "Koa". Koakuma, by the way, means "Little Devil"._

**17:** _MY Remilia's nickname for Hong Meiling, the SDM´s gatekeeper and head of the gate guard. Whether her name is Hong or Meiling confuses me, but I´ll stick with Meiling. Also, her win/defeat dialogue with Remilia in Touhou Hisoutensouku implies that they are friends, since they talk about manga that Remilia let Meiling borrow._

**18:** _Nickname (fan or otherwise) for Flandre Scarlet, Remilia´s little sister. Only Remilia refers to her as this; Marisa Kirisame may or may not do so as well. Anyone else simply calls her "Flandre", "The little sister" or "the young mistress". Technically, Remilia herself is still only a child…_

**19:** _French for the Spanish adjective "celestín", which is to say something is a light bluish color, like the sky itself. Though we often call the sky blue, I do believe I most often see a light blue tone ("celeste", in Spanish)._

**20:** _I recall that once, a user from the shrine maiden dot org site forums, giving advice to a user about EoSD´s Extra Stage, referred to the one fairy before the mid-boss as the "Death Fairy". Well, my friend, whoever you are, if you happen to read this, know I got the inspiration from you. And yeah, bombing her does indeed make her a fairly trivial ordeal._

**21:** _Anyone who knows who Remilia is cannot __**possibly NOT **__know about this. Her power to manipulate fate is one of those which are debated because of its extents, but suffice to say that it´s quite easily up there with the other broken Touhou powers, dare I say the most broken of them all, surpassing even Yukari Yakumo´s? Indeed, that power, and HOW she got it, will play a prominent role here… Hahahahahahahahaha…_

**22:** _An informal version of "S'il vous plait", which is French for "would you please"._

**23:** _French for "alright". Yes, Sakuya doth know some French =P._

**24:** _It occurred to me that, even if Remilia supposedly cannot hide her wings (which are big. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise), she must be able to do something about them, otherwise they would be rather uncomfortable to deal with (after all, vampires are shape shifters). Then I remembered how she seemed to be able to change the shape of her wings based on her triple-input three-step attack in the fighting games, and reached the conclusion that she CAN change the size and form of her wings to suit her needs. Don´t try to dissuade me from this notion, please._

**25: **_Japanese for "Amazing!" or "Wow" or something like that._

**26:** _Japanese for "Turquoise". _

**27:** _Japanese for "Light Brown/Brown"._

**28: **_Japanese for "Chairo of the Rainbow-Colored Sisters"._

**29:** _Japanese for "Toruko of the Rainbow-Colored Sisters". Yes, I lack imagination for naming OCs =P._

**30: **_It was once a firmly established French tradition to reserve some time before each meal dedicated especially for conversation and to spend time with the family. In recent times, this tradition appears to have been downplayed or abandoned somewhat, but Remilia´s keen and proud on keeping it. _

***:** _Ok, this has been bothering me for a LONG time. I´ve seen Remilia's hair take all kinds of different colors on several different images all throughout my time with Touhou. In truth, different color perspective and interpretation serve to allow Remilia to possess pink hair, purple hair, lilac hair, blue hair, light blue hair, dark blue hair, __**black hair, white hair, gray hair and even red hair.**__ You know what? __**Screw it**__. ZUN's first art of Remilia depicts her with white hair. alphes' style depicts her with blue hair. ZUN´s second art of her is with light blue hair. I'll say it again. __**SCREW IT.**__ She has light blue hair. Alright. But several (hundred) people think it´s different colors. Thank the lightning for that. And guess what? **They got me**._

_****: **__Common sense and proper manners say to greet people when a new day starts with a "Good Morning" and wish them a peaceful sleep when the day ends with "Good Night". HOWEVER, common sense does not take into account a vampire´s nature. And I see little point in saying "Good Morning" to a nocturnal creature when the sun __**has already set.**__ Therefore, whenever Remilia wakes up during the night, she is greeted with "Good Night", and when she goes to sleep at sunrise, she is blessed with a "Good Morning". Weird, huh? Well, it doesn´t end there. It´s been proven that Remilia is also sometimes a __**diurnal vampire**__. Therefore, common sense strikes back with a vengeance in such occasions. Now __**that's**__ Touhou for ya._

*****: **_French for "Jugular Route". It has never been stated __**where**__ in SDM Remilia´s quarters are located. All we could possibly decipher is that it is located on a high section given that we scale a __**BIG**__ balcony wall before facing Remilia high in the night sky at the end of the Stage 6 of EoSD. Therefore, I have elected to place her own personal area of the house as the top section of SDM. The Jugular Vein is one of the most important blood vessels of the body, providing blood and oxygen to the head area and going almost right from the head to the heart. Give the image that the upper and clock tower sections of SDM are the "head" of the mansion, and imagine a route that leads from the center, or "heart" of the house straight to the "head" through a special route, or "vein" and you have the Jugular Route, the road that connects the heart of the house to its head. For further vampiric imaginary, remember that vampires almost all bite the jugular vein as the most readily accessed main blood vessel of the body. And the entrance to the Jugular Route, well… may just end up invoking that very image, whether intentionally or not._

_Technically speaking, as Lady of the House, Remilia is already both the SDM´s head and it´s heart, but eh, your mileage may vary. _

******: **_Just so you know, 'Auzi', 'Entendre' and 'Akóuw' (or however it's written), all mean 'Hear', respectively, in Rumaninan, French and Greek._

_**A.N: Well, that's it. Second chapter out at last... And with this many notes, only half of the chapter or so is actually the story itself. Shit. I wonder if I should stop it as a whole? The insertion of foreign words cannot, but... Ah hell...**_

**_Anyways, I hope you enjoyed my ramblings... And if you didn't, well, sorry, I guess I got rusty. Please review if you find it within your present ability and disposition at the moment of reading._**


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